Since August 1947, the country was run by an interim legislature called the Indian Constituent Assembly. Elections were held based on universal adult suffrage and anyone over the age of 21 years could cast his/her franchise. The 53 political parties contested for 489 seats. There were about 1874 candidates from various parties. There were 401 constituencies and some had multiple seats. In the 1960s, the multi-seat constituencies were done away with. Out of a total population of 36 crores, there were 19 crore voters. The Commission holds general elections to the Look Sabha every five years, and elections to the state Legislative Assemblies in its different States once every five years. Till 1967, the Commission used the First-Past-the-Post System for conducting elections. The system was replaced with the Proportional Representation System (PRS) after the 1967 General Elections. The first election to Look Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies under PRS was held in September 1969. In 1975, the Commission introduced Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for conducting elections. This was done to prevent malpractices and ensure a fair election. The first general elections to Look Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies were held under EVM in September 1980. The Commission also introduced the NOTA (None of the above) option in June 2013. It enabled voters to indicate their disapproval of all contesting candidates in Look Sabha and Assembly elections by pressing a button on an EVM.
Shyam Saran Negi, the 106-year-old who had become the first voter of independent India to cast his 34th vote in the forthcoming state polls early this week, died today at his native place Kalpa in Himachal Pradesh. He was cremated with full state honors. Negi was ill for some time, but his death came as a shock to many. In what can be termed a historic moment, Independent India’s first voter Shyam Saran Negi passed away in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district on Sunday. The centenarian, who was the oldest registered voter in the country, had cast his vote 34 times since 1951 and was also the oldest registered voter in Himachal Pradesh. He was also the first voter in the country to cast his vote in the 2014 Look Sabha elections. Negi had cast his vote in all Assembly and parliamentary elections since 1951 when he turned 18 years old and became eligible to vote. He was born on January 1, 1914, in Kalpa village in the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. He was admitted to a hospital in Solan on Saturday after he complained of chest pain. However, his condition became critical and he breathed his last at 5.20 am today. The centenarian had been admitted to the hospital after he complained of chest pain on Friday night.
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Negi was also a brand ambassador for the Election Commission.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur offered his condolence to Negi’s family.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Negi will always remind us of our obligation towards the nation. “The demise of India’s first voter Shyam Saran Negi is sad news,” he wrote in a tweet. “He has seen the country take its first breath in a free sky and held on to the strings of democracy till his last breath.”